tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51059892018-09-24T02:47:20.941-07:00EVK4 SuperBlogEVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.comBlogger720125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-25789424262567005572017-08-22T09:51:00.000-07:002017-09-10T20:00:16.892-07:00Rising from the ashes....the bad ass ocean going sailor (BAOGS)Someone once got a tattoo of a phoenix to symbolize her rising up to be bigger and better than before.&nbsp; I doubt that person had this in mind but maybe, just maybe, her new tattoo also symbolizes my bad ass ocean going racing career rising from the ashes where it has sat dormant on the bottom of the Pacific.<br /><br />Holy crap, that's good news to my scores of readers!&nbsp; And me, it's good news for me too.&nbsp; Maybe not for the boat and crew that's stuck with me on board but they don't know that yet.<br /><br />So, I'm going to put my name on the Pac Cup crew list, see if I can wrangle a boat some other way and hopefully 10 or so months from now set forth to Kaneohe the slow way.<br /><br />It's not like I'm not prepared.&nbsp; I dusted off the old life jacket a few weeks ago to sail around the Bay with my cousin and his friend Joe.&nbsp; I used some nautical terms, I pulled on some lines, I peered intently at the windvane, and lamented the wind shadow of Angel Island.&nbsp; Just like the old days.<br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuxD0hGhxvc/WZxfgkFVPNI/AAAAAAAACTM/zTeUenvSfs8zZgbtlpQDVQJN1h6BmuJJQCLcBGAs/s1600/edward%2Bdriving%2Bwith%2Bracing%2Bwatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tuxD0hGhxvc/WZxfgkFVPNI/AAAAAAAACTM/zTeUenvSfs8zZgbtlpQDVQJN1h6BmuJJQCLcBGAs/s320/edward%2Bdriving%2Bwith%2Bracing%2Bwatch.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ah, the old days.&nbsp; After deciding to relive my youth, I took a stroll down memory lane by looking over pictures&nbsp; --&nbsp; when I was young, exceptionally good looking, sailing to Hawaii and wearing a cool racing watch.<br /><br />Umm, where the h3ll is my racing watch?&nbsp; It did cool things like count down to the start, keep really good time, wake me up every four hours whether I wanted to or not, match my suspenders (no, wait, that's a harness), and immediately identify me as a part of the cool kids club.<br /><br />This might be the only thing that can keep me from sailing to Hawaii again.&nbsp; I need a watch, my fitbit will only depress me as I fail to hit 10,000 steps on a 40-50 foot boat.&nbsp; So, my first order of business will be to go shopping.&nbsp; Then put my name on the crew list.&nbsp; Then make myself indispensable for my future Capitan.&nbsp; Then sail to Hawaii.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-27955923618845986612015-10-12T11:39:00.000-07:002015-10-12T11:39:46.048-07:00Burn the FrogWe went for a little change of pace in our battle yesterday, pulling out Bogles v. Burn.&nbsp; I've heard this matchup described as two players running past each other and that is a pretty good description of our first game.&nbsp; I was on Burn and Noah was on Bogles.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HPVjiKcvZeQ/Vhv98iF0LVI/AAAAAAAACOg/VMkgbGvpqeo/s1600/magic%2Bfrog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HPVjiKcvZeQ/Vhv98iF0LVI/AAAAAAAACOg/VMkgbGvpqeo/s200/magic%2Bfrog.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>In the first game, I ran past him faster than he could run past me; being on the play was a huge advantage.&nbsp; Then we had the discussion, Sideboard or not?&nbsp; These two decks have tuned sideboards (unlike Twin) and both of them have tools for each other.&nbsp; So, we decided to do it.<br /><br />I brought in 3x Destructive Revelry and 2x Deflecting Palm.&nbsp; He sided in 4 cards.<br /><br />He mulliganed down to six and then decided to keep.&nbsp; I held my breath and saw him play Razorverge Thicket and a Bogle.&nbsp; No other cards?&nbsp; Nope!<br /><br />So I slammed down a mountain and a goblin guide, turned it to its side and held my breath again.&nbsp; Top decked card was a hyena umbra!&nbsp; No free land!<br /><br />He started suiting up his Bogle but I was beating him down faster than he could respond -- I had him at 3 life when he played his Daybreak Coronet.&nbsp; :( .&nbsp; Casting it brought him to 1 (thanks Eidolon), swinging with it brought him back up to 7.&nbsp; I didn't draw either of my sideboard cards.&nbsp; My creatures couldn't attack into it without netting him more life and alas, I only had 6 points of burn in my hand.&nbsp; Game two to the weird looking frog creature (the Bogle, not Noah).<br /><br />I was pretty sure I had the only sideboard cards in my deck that would help me so I went at it with the same cards.&nbsp; I drew the freaking perfect opening hand if this were game 1.&nbsp; Grim Lavamancer into Eidolon with a ton of great burn.&nbsp; He mulliganed to six!&nbsp; I had a chance!<br /><br />But then he put down not one but <b>two Leylines of Sanctity</b> as the game started.&nbsp; I read Grim Lavamancer and realized I now had a 1/1 for 1.&nbsp; I read Eidolon and realized I had a 2/2 for 2 that dealt me damage (not like that mattered when I realized I had a TON of dead cards that wouldn't even be cast).<br /><br />Whatever...maybe I'd draw into my destructive revelry.&nbsp; And then draw into another one.&nbsp; Let's do this.<br /><br />To keep his two leyline hand, it turns out he had to play without a bogle.&nbsp; And that deck stinks at finding creatures when you need them.&nbsp; So I was able to get out some creatures, force him to Path them, giving me a ton of lands&nbsp; while I built up a wasted hand full of burn.<br /><br />Then I read Skullcrack.&nbsp; "Damage can't be prevented this turn."&nbsp; I convinced myself that this meant leyline couldn't stop it, suspended a rift bolt and waited for my next turn.&nbsp; Next turn I assembled lethal burn (including skullcrack) and cast it all.<br /><br />When Noah was done laughing at me, he swung his bogle for lethal.&nbsp; I made my case for "damage can't be prevented" somehow circumvents hexproof.&nbsp; He pointed out that nothing prevented that damage happening to some legal target that doesn't exist.&nbsp; So we settled on asking the <a href="http://chat.magicjudges.org/mtgrules/" target="_blank">online judge</a> who of course said, "what about hexproof don't you understand" or something more diplomatic that I'm paraphrasing.<br /><br />Bottom line, my only hope was to blow up his leyline and, failing that, accept defeat not quite gracefully.&nbsp; Game, set and match to the Frog.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-64963575080105641562015-10-08T09:20:00.000-07:002015-10-08T09:32:22.127-07:00Two decks in oneRegular readers of this blog and my twitter feed know that I'm obsessed with Splinter Twin.&nbsp; Noah and I play almost every night and I'm trying to find ways to beat the deck.&nbsp; And I mean beat it without the sideboard...I want game 1 wins.&nbsp; This fits into his need to learn to pilot the mainboard deck and the fact that we haven't built a sideboard yet.<br /><br />Then going through his binder cleaning out some stuff, we happened upon a playset of Delver of Secrets that were supposed to go into his standard Jeskai deck when it lost all of its cards to rotation, becoming a Modern deck.&nbsp; A lightbulb clicked when the next page had three Young Pyromancers that were taken out of the burn deck when we got the Eidolons.<br /><br />A sideboard is 15 cards....if we added four Delvers, four Pyromancers, a bunch of cheap cantrips to trigger those two, we could take out all of the Twin combo pieces and a few lands and have a Transformer deck.&nbsp; Not just change Twin's style, change into a whole freaking other deck for game two.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GkR0UJcM_Sk/VhaWq6IRyeI/AAAAAAAACOQ/4z6qvxyBP4c/s1600/Autobot_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GkR0UJcM_Sk/VhaWq6IRyeI/AAAAAAAACOQ/4z6qvxyBP4c/s200/Autobot_logo.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>You know the song:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="quote"><i>The Transformers! Robots in disguise!</i><br /><i>The Transformers! More than meets the eye!</i><br /><i>The Transformers!</i></span></blockquote><span class="quote">Of course, there are no robots in this story but the transformation is real.&nbsp; It's probably a really bad idea since the same decks that beat Twin probably beat Delver.&nbsp; Maybe what they sideboard in becomes a dead card (you get to ask them, "what's that Torpor Orb for?").&nbsp; But the point is that it will be fun.</span><br /><span class="quote"><br /></span><span class="quote">On my tennis team in high school we had an ambidextrous player (Marlon something) -- it was always fun watching his warmup to see the moment his opponent realized that this guy doesn't have a backhand!&nbsp; Game 2 should be like that.&nbsp; In my imagination at least.&nbsp; The guy would say, "where does that Delver come from?&nbsp; You can't switch decks!&nbsp; JUDGE!"&nbsp; And then turn two Young Pyromancer, turn three lots of spells, 3/2 flyers and little elementals doing crazy things.&nbsp; It's a really fun idea.</span><br /><span class="quote"><br /></span><span class="quote">Of course no idea is complete without taking it to an extreme so the next question is what other deck uses our blue / red manabase?&nbsp; Storm!&nbsp; But, alas, a good storm deck would have about 36 different cards to add, not quite sideboardable.</span><br /><span class="quote"><br /></span><span class="quote">It does turn out that Delver isn't really that much fun to play compared to Twin but it did beat Tron once last night and Noah might just need some practice with it.&nbsp; Until we have a proper sideboard, this is the strategy just to see if we get the reaction we're looking for!<i><br /></i></span>EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-35397290093487937432015-10-06T09:29:00.000-07:002015-10-06T09:29:13.572-07:00My favorite Magic the Gathering ruleWhen Noah and I started playing, we just jumped in.&nbsp; To this day, I've never actually seen a rulebook but have heard there is something out there that is long and complicated.&nbsp; RTFM?&nbsp; No way.<br /><br />Luckily, if you read the cards and start playing, most of the rules become pretty obvious.&nbsp; Noah played in a few junior league tournaments and we saw the basics of: cast spell, attack, respond.&nbsp; Things like that.<br /><br />But Instants...those made no sense.&nbsp; You could just cast them whenever, all willy nilly and they did things.&nbsp; Doom Blade was the big one...it destroyed the freaking creature!&nbsp; But, having no idea that something called the stack existed, it turned into a game of reflexes.&nbsp; If I had a creature that had an enter the battlefield effect (say Thragtusk) and Noah had a Doom Blade, he would hold it in his hand and if he had it hit the table before my creature did I wouldn't get my 5 life.<br /><br />It got to the point where we would be slamming cards on the table without even realizing what the other guy was playing in an attempt to get the instant's effect first.&nbsp; There was no way that this could be right but it's how we played.<br /><br />Learning the rules has made the game more fun and sensible but I do kind of miss the adrenaline rush of slamming cards on the table.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-57779495427645992362015-10-01T14:15:00.000-07:002015-10-01T14:15:42.664-07:00Deceiver Exarch For the Twin!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOt0SwDbFoM/Vg2huj8skpI/AAAAAAAACN8/xH2TzYtTMyQ/s1600/combo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SOt0SwDbFoM/Vg2huj8skpI/AAAAAAAACN8/xH2TzYtTMyQ/s320/combo.png" width="320" /></a></div>Since Noah has turned into the King of Splinter Twin I've had a problem.&nbsp; Patience.&nbsp; I've either exercised too much patience or too little.&nbsp; Here's the crux of the problem, he always has cards in hand and open mana.&nbsp; <i><b>ALWAYS</b></i>.<br /><br />So, what do I have to do?&nbsp; I need to realize that he can combo off starting on turn 3 (for non-MTG'ers, combo off means play two cards and win) and keep any outs that I have in hand to stop the combo.&nbsp; I also have to very carefully play around all of his removal and bounce effects.&nbsp; And I have to put a clock on him (meaning do a certain amount of damage each turn).<br /><br />But it never ever works.<br /><br />Example.&nbsp; I'm playing Tron and I think I have a lock on him by playing two spellskites.&nbsp; These critters are nasty, they can redirect spells to themselves, keeping him from combo'ing and winning.&nbsp; So, they sit out there looking mean and menacing.&nbsp; Every time I try to get out a threat it's either countered or bounced back to my hand or something.&nbsp; I finally get 12 mana and play a wurmcoil for 6, it gets remanded, so I tap the other 6 and it gets played.&nbsp; I have a threat on the battlefield!&nbsp; And he can't combo!&nbsp; I tick up Karn one more and ready to exile Emrakul next turn, then ultimate him to restart the game with Emrakul on the battlefield after that.&nbsp; It's a beautiful line!<br /><br />Then Noah electrolyzes a point of damage to each of my spellskites and draws a card.&nbsp; Uh oh, why would he do that?&nbsp; Because he then bolts one of them, casts snapcaster mage, and bolts the other.&nbsp; I shake my head and wonder aloud if I could have just redirected both points of electrolyze damage to one spellskite.&nbsp; He casually shows me the other bolt in his hand.&nbsp; Argh.<br /><br />Next turn, combo.<br /><br />Next game, on the play I get out a turn 3 oblivion stone on the off chance that he doesn't have the combo.&nbsp; He does.&nbsp; Of course, he does.&nbsp; Before I had enough mana to blow stuff up...combo!<br /><br />We play no-sideboard because we both want to learn&nbsp; how to play the matchups.&nbsp; But none of our matchups are good.&nbsp; Our other decks: Tron, Affinity, Burn and Bogles.&nbsp; None of those can withstand the Splinter Twin juggernaut.&nbsp; I'm going to sneak some rending volleys into the main board for Burn and Tron (we run main board Galvanic Blast in Affinity and Path to Exile in Bogles) just to kill the freakin' Deceiver Exarchs but it shouldn't be this hard.<br /><br />It's weird that killing a 1/4 is such an important thing.&nbsp; First time I played Burn against him, I held up 1 red and 1 white mana thinking I had him.&nbsp; He Gitaxian Probed me because I looked too confident.&nbsp; He looked at my hand and immediately cast Deceiver Exarch.&nbsp; I laughed, threw down Boros Charm and said, "busted!"&nbsp; He asked if I was targeting him or myself; confused, I read the card.&nbsp; Target player!<br /><br />We had worked out a pantomime of the combo where he pretends to tap both cards back and forth a few times so he did that and it was back in the loser's bracket for me.<br /><br />I know we have answers in our decks (well, everything but Burn does) but without sideboarding I just can't get there.&nbsp; It's an amazingly frustrating feeling that the two of us are playing really amazingly good games of Magic but he's just a step ahead of me always.<br /><br />I feel like I have to play like he has the combo and/or answer unless I have a clock on him.&nbsp; When I do that, it gives him time to get the combo/answer.&nbsp; When I go aggressive he does have the combo/answer.<br /><br />It's not a 100% matchup for Twin, I have to win some time.&nbsp; But I need to find that patience/aggro line and when to do each first.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-32340079310562359952015-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:002015-09-28T12:26:02.378-07:00The Magic Major League<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHEN4Yjw1Mg/VgmRmIV7onI/AAAAAAAACNs/D4cbrkQ4zAU/s1600/eudo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MHEN4Yjw1Mg/VgmRmIV7onI/AAAAAAAACNs/D4cbrkQ4zAU/s320/eudo.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>Eudemonia's last Battle for Zendikar pre-release event of the weekend was the two headed giant (is that a magic-ish sounding name or what?).&nbsp; In this format, two players build decks and play together as a team trying to crush the other team. Your team shares life totals, can help each other and it's generally a fun game.&nbsp; And it's perfect for father/son teams.&nbsp; You know, because we play as a team.<br /><br /><span id="goog_1183860320"></span><span id="goog_1183860321"></span>When Noah and I sat down at the table, I had my game face on -- staring at the unfortunate saps that were about to take a beating while also doing my best to assert Noah's and my alpha status.&nbsp; Noah, on the other hand, noticed the dude's playmat, sits down and asks him if he really top-8'd the WMCQ a few weeks ago.&nbsp; And, of course he had.&nbsp; And in the course of Noah's inquisition we find out his partner had gotten 9th place at some GP recently.<br /><br />My game plan was out the window, these guys were no longer intimidated by Noah's and my matching sleeves since my partner was excitedly finding out about what it was like for Jennifer to play LSV and what modern deck Ryan played.&nbsp; We were now on a first name basis and had basically conceded the game!<br /><br />We actually might as well have, they not only had the psychological advantage, they built better decks and are better Magic players than we are.&nbsp; It was still fun, we played a good game, got some of our planned combos off and were one turn away from making the game a SLIGHT bit more painful for them.&nbsp; But they won.<br /><br />And that leads to the point of the post.&nbsp; The dude, Ryan, plays red green Tron in Modern...and had top-8'd with it.&nbsp; R/G Tron is what Noah played at that tournament and we had a chance to get a tutorial on how to play it.&nbsp; We told him that Noah had finally beat Splinter Twin and asked him how he played that deck.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl8cTis-MA8/VgmQj5Ca3jI/AAAAAAAACNc/6wadmdoPyN8/s1600/spellskite.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rl8cTis-MA8/VgmQj5Ca3jI/AAAAAAAACNc/6wadmdoPyN8/s200/spellskite.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>Since they had beaten us so fast, we still had 30 minutes left in the round, so we pulled out a twin deck, he pulled out Tron and Noah played him.&nbsp; Every turn, we'd all talk through the decision points he was using, what he'd recommend for Noah to do, and how to time and sequence all of it.&nbsp; He beat the Twin deck partially by design and partially by luck (design: he plays 3 spellskites mainboard; luck: he drew 2 of them!).<br /><br />It turns out he has a VERY similar build to ours (he runs 1 more Ugin and no Ulamog and runs 1 more ghost quarter with I think 1 less wurmcoil).&nbsp; It's the 3 maindeck spellskites that we have in common and is the key vs. Twin.&nbsp; He doesn't like torpor orb in the side and recommends rending volley which actually does sound more flexible.&nbsp; And he has spent the cash on Crucible of Worlds which now seems pretty inevitable to make a dent in my wallet and end up in our deckbox.<br /><br />And now that I'm 84 paragraphs in to this post, I'll get to the point.&nbsp; We were at a very casual event, a fun event and really in it to pull an <a href="https://twitter.com/commandcast/status/648301830875709441" target="_blank">Expedition</a> or a Gideon.&nbsp; But what we got was two exceptional Magic players that took the time to help both of us become better players, walked through how they built decks and play them, and then Noah got to play a game of Magic against a dude who has top-8'd a tournament that had Sam Freakin' Black in it.<br /><br />The funny part that I only casually mentioned above is that we've completed the first iteration of a Twin deck (thanks PucaTrade!) and Noah was fishing more for ways to beat Tron with Twin than the other way around but I think I'm the only one who noticed that!&nbsp;<br /><br />Either way, Noah's goal in life is to make the Magic Hall of Fame, the Swimming Hall of Fame, and the Baseball Hall of Fame.&nbsp; I think he thinks there is a Lawyer Hall of Fame that he's going to be in also but that's another post in itself.&nbsp; Getting to play a Top-8'ing Modern player is one more step on that journey!EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-77258808738117594082015-09-25T16:29:00.003-07:002015-09-25T16:29:58.013-07:00Full set of Fetches!!!I have completed my goal, I now have 5 full playsets of Khans' fetchlands.&nbsp; It's been a long time coming, lots of trading and lots of pack openings.&nbsp; And orders...I did have to buy a few.&nbsp; This post would be boring if I didn't tell you what decks the fetches are in so here you are:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQHKUNulyWE/VgXXDnCbjJI/AAAAAAAACM4/2NtkIQ3TOtY/s1600/slippery%2Bbogle.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RQHKUNulyWE/VgXXDnCbjJI/AAAAAAAACM4/2NtkIQ3TOtY/s200/slippery%2Bbogle.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>Bogles (deck nickname is Clyde) has 4 Windswept Heaths.&nbsp; Bogles plays 8 green hexproof 1 drop creatures and most of the good enchantments (and Path to Exile) are white.&nbsp; So Windswept Heaths.&nbsp; As of this writing, I'm actually not sure why I'm not running any Temple Gardens.&nbsp; Weird.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2d96XYUUS4s/VgXX3J2TpcI/AAAAAAAACNA/pYTUGiM6BkI/s1600/bolt.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2d96XYUUS4s/VgXX3J2TpcI/AAAAAAAACNA/pYTUGiM6BkI/s1600/bolt.PNG" /></a></div>Burn is playing 2 Bloodstained Mire, 2 Flooded Strand, and 4 Wooded Foothills.&nbsp; The idea is that between these I can get my 4 Sacred Foundries and my 2 Stomping Grounds.&nbsp; And basics of any of the colors.&nbsp; The deck really only plays red and white but needs to splash for green occasionally from the sideboard.&nbsp; And this manabase means I'm able to add Nacatls if I need to.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IMWFEKoEUM4/VgXYe5dbvpI/AAAAAAAACNM/UNLMMoeWMhs/s1600/twin.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IMWFEKoEUM4/VgXYe5dbvpI/AAAAAAAACNM/UNLMMoeWMhs/s1600/twin.PNG" /></a>But the reason I completed the set is for Twinsies, which is going to be running 4 Polluted Deltas, 2 Bloodstained Mires, and 2 Flooded Strands (which I stole from my soon to be obsolete standard Jeskai deck).&nbsp; This is the only deck that really NEEDS the enemy fetches but I just can't justify the money for Scalding Tarn when this will work out OK.&nbsp; This deck needs lots of red and lots of blue (twin needs two red sources and cryptic needs THREE blue sources) so the fixing has to be perfect and not kill me with shocks.&nbsp; So I'll probably need the Tarns.<br /><br /><br />When it was confirmed that Battle for Zendikar wouldn't have the enemy fetchlands, Alex from Masters of Modern kicked of a bit of a twittoversy by saying that they weren't even really needed.&nbsp; Based on the list above I'd have to agree.&nbsp; For now.<br /><br />But the main point here is that I feel like I just hit a magic milestone.&nbsp; I have all 20 allied fetchlands!&nbsp; I can build almost any deck and get to say, "that is so fetch!" whenever I want now.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-85657844961304141872015-09-23T12:09:00.001-07:002015-09-28T16:09:16.086-07:00Pack Wars - playing once winning twiceWhen Noah and I have enough packs (4), we play a fun format called <span style="background-color: yellow;"><u><i><b><span style="color: red;">Pack Wars</span></b></i></u></span>.&nbsp; Editorial note: I have highlighted that phrase to add some fun and excitement to the blog.&nbsp; If you're using a 15 year old browser the blink tag might even be working!<br /><br />Pack wars is simple.&nbsp; We each get 15 lands -- 3 in each color.&nbsp; We then open a single pack, remove the filler and land card from the back*, and shuffle it into the lands without looking.&nbsp; The we play Magic: The Gathering as usual.<br /><br />Except it's not usual because <i>we don't know what cards we have</i>!&nbsp; The focus is alternately on beating the other player (you know like a freakin' spell casting wizard planeswalker would do) and drawing the card on top of your library hoping for that mythic rare sweetness.<br /><br />Once the first game is decided, we repeat the process with a second pack and slip 15 new cards into the deck sight unseen and shuffle up again.&nbsp; If you didn't see the rare in the first game, you now have two to pull off the top.&nbsp; Double the pleasure I guess.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IFdC9ScpXCM/VgL3UeUqatI/AAAAAAAACMo/b3kaYy_bMfY/s1600/WP_Emrakul_1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IFdC9ScpXCM/VgL3UeUqatI/AAAAAAAACMo/b3kaYy_bMfY/s200/WP_Emrakul_1024x768.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The first time we did this, it was with Modern Masters 2.&nbsp; I delivered a beatdown with Ulamog's crusher or something, but everyone was disappointed with the stupid rares that we pulled.&nbsp; We added the second packs, Noah beat me with some artifacts or spirits or something, we pulled more dumb rares and finished kind of disappointed.&nbsp; The game itself was fun (I cast an eldrazi I guess) but Pack Wars needs a game and a pull to make it worthwhile.&nbsp; All we got was a game.<br /><br />As I was about to toss all the cards into a box for later filing, Noah asked what my second pack foil was.&nbsp; Hmmm, I didn't remember so he grabbed the deck, rifled through it and flipped out.&nbsp; A <b>FOIL EMRAKUL</b>!&nbsp; A card that almost got unceremoniously tossed into an Adidas shoebox suddenly became the first card in our <a href="http://evk4.blogspot.com/2015/09/how-to-feel-safe-in-magic.html" target="_blank">Tron deck</a>!<br /><br />Fast forward to two nights ago.&nbsp; Played a pack war and got Ulamog.&nbsp; Yeah, that's an Eldrazi.&nbsp; Fun, mythic rare and we were happy.<br /><br />Last night, we go again.&nbsp; First pack, Noah is badgering me about whether I got my rare yet.&nbsp; I had but wasn't going to tell him instead changing the subject to whether we could pretend this mountain on the battlefield was an island.&nbsp; He kept saying no so I kept lying about the rare sitting in my hand.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjp8TzCbbqk/VgL2jlHUSdI/AAAAAAAACMg/eFTnx_Og6vg/s1600/vendilion%2Bclique.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cjp8TzCbbqk/VgL2jlHUSdI/AAAAAAAACMg/eFTnx_Og6vg/s200/vendilion%2Bclique.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>On about turn 8, he flips out and yells, "Dark Confidant!".&nbsp; As happy as I was for him, I'm in this thing to win.&nbsp; So I tell him, "yeah, my rare is better than yours, but I'm not showing you until I have a second island."&nbsp; He concedes that the red land on the battlefield looks pretty darned blue to him, I play my Vendilion Clique with aplomb and commence the beatdown while he has to figure out how to kill his own Dark Confidant (by this point he was taking 3 from the air every turn and hitting himself in the face with each Dark Confidant draw).&nbsp; Vendilion Clique won the game.<br /><br />So, yeah, I won the pack war coming and going.&nbsp; But Noah got a Clique to go in our work-in-progress Twin deck!<br /><br /><b>tl/dr I pulled a foil Primeval Titan in the second pack.</b><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">* If opening Modern Masters 2, there is no land card, just the filler.&nbsp; FYI.</span>EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-69344510867418093222015-09-22T12:02:00.000-07:002015-09-22T12:02:37.813-07:00How to feel safe in Magic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vRPQ7Q52KMo/VgGlH7_QdcI/AAAAAAAACMQ/d5ULkEzhcjk/s1600/emrakul.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vRPQ7Q52KMo/VgGlH7_QdcI/AAAAAAAACMQ/d5ULkEzhcjk/s200/emrakul.PNG" width="139" /></a></div>I am nervous when I play Magic.&nbsp; I have my plan but I'm constantly on the lookout for countermagic, combat tricks, and disruption that open mana communicates.&nbsp; Sitting across from a blue player is not good for my mental health.<br /><br />I have a standard deck (well, it's standard until Saturday) on Magic Online (MTGO).&nbsp; It's an aggro jeskai deck that relies on Mantis Rider, Jeskai Ascendancy, and Seeker of the Way.&nbsp; It's fun and I can usually tell by the fourth or fifth turn if I have a shot at winning.&nbsp; So I only have about a minute or two of tension before I can enjoy the game.<br /><br />My other MTGO deck is my annoying blue deck that uses countermagic and card draw to make my Chasm Skulker really big.&nbsp; This deck is really fun when it wins but makes me a nervous wreck while playing it.&nbsp; I rarely play it.<br /><br />In paper magic, I play almost exclusively modern.&nbsp; Games are usually fast with our aggro decks (Affinity, Bogles, Burn) so I get in, do my thing, either get shut down or overwhelm my opponent.&nbsp; Sometimes these games can go long and I deal with it; but the nerves are real.<br /><br />Noah and I have one deck that just gives me a sense of calm.&nbsp; And it's calm from turn one.&nbsp; It's because I am going to win.&nbsp; In a relaxed-for-me. soul-crushing-for-the-unfortunate-sap-across-from-me way.&nbsp; Except when I have no chance.&nbsp; That deck is Tron.<br /><br />I'll start with the no-chance times.&nbsp; Sometimes they blow up a critical tron piece or blood moon me or I just can't draw that one Urza's Tower.&nbsp; And I'm fine with that.&nbsp; Because I know if I <i><b>do</b></i> build Tron, then all sorts of beautiful cards are going to rain from my hand onto the battlefield.&nbsp; I'll wipe the board a few times, put some wurmcoils out and then eventually frickin' Emrakul is going to own the battlefield.<br /><br />Just knowing that Emrakul is out there ready to save my bacon is what gives me this sense of peace.&nbsp; This weird blobby tentacled interdimensional eater of worlds is on my side.&nbsp; As Alfred E. Neumann says, "what. me worry?"&nbsp; Heck no, I can get Karn on turn 3, Ugin on turn 4, Ulamog on turn 5, and Emrakul on turn 6.&nbsp; And I can blow stuff up while waiting for any of those.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr7apxz-TGU/VgGkn_i5_0I/AAAAAAAACMI/dcXmZyNn-Cc/s1600/the%2Bhand.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr7apxz-TGU/VgGkn_i5_0I/AAAAAAAACMI/dcXmZyNn-Cc/s320/the%2Bhand.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><br />I try to keep a poker face but when I look down and see a hand like this?&nbsp; How do you not just breathe out, relax, smile, and wish your opponent "good luck"?EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-23776419557281661132015-09-15T15:36:00.000-07:002015-09-15T15:43:50.103-07:00Noah's NemesisNoah has played in three pretty big Modern tournaments.&nbsp; In two he played Tron and in one he played Affinity.&nbsp; Affinity is now exclusively my deck.&nbsp; But he did very well with Tron.<br /><br />The first Tron tournament, he went 3-1-1, intentionally drawing the last game to split the prize.&nbsp; The time he played with Affinity, he went 2-2 which really isn't as bad as he remembers (he toasted a Grixis Control dude with an ensouled darksteel citadel).&nbsp; And the last Tron tourney, he went 2-2.&nbsp; The same record BUT he finally beat Splinter Twin so that day was a success.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egDkMGJYCvM/VfiYUeD9n6I/AAAAAAAACL4/hbIiTqMNgIE/s1600/cryptic%2Bcommand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egDkMGJYCvM/VfiYUeD9n6I/AAAAAAAACL4/hbIiTqMNgIE/s200/cryptic%2Bcommand.jpg" width="143" /></a>He has a good poker face but his body language is a bit telling.&nbsp; I can usually tell from a distance when he has a lock on the game.&nbsp; And unfortunately, I can also usually tell when somebody casts his nemesis: <i><b>Cryptic Command</b></i>.&nbsp; Holy toledo, he hates that card.&nbsp; In fairness, I know he's beaten both a Grixis Control and the Splinter Twin deck that played it but I'm also pretty sure every other Modern tourney loss he's had has been at the hands of that card.&nbsp; It's right there on this page, go ahead and read it.&nbsp; It's just a mean nasty vile card.<br /><br />You've heard the saying, "if you can't beat them, join them"?&nbsp; We have to join the Evil Cryptic Command Gang.&nbsp; So we spent about two weeks refining the Tempo Twin list we wanted to play.&nbsp; But since we're not blue people usually, we need almost all of the cards.&nbsp; We had a couple of remands, a few dispels, one polluted delta, a few Splinter Twins, and of course four freakin' Kiki Jikis because he's a goblin.&nbsp; But none of the blue staples of the deck.<br /><br />So Noah got to trading, starting with Cryptic Commands, Remands (somehow we now have 5), deceiver exarchs, the rest of the splinter twins, pestermite and holy toledo we have a long way to go.&nbsp; So we remembered our neighbor talking about PucaTrade.<br /><br />And I've gone into overdrive trading around the country with Gitaxian Probes, Spell Snares, Telling Times, Izzet Charms and hopefully a couple of Vendilion Cliques on their way.&nbsp; It's going to take some time but so do Magic games involving blue cards so we should get used to it.&nbsp; All told, we'll have about 70 cards for the mainboard that we'll have to narrow down then start worrying about the sideboard.<br /><br />And then, someday, Noah will cast a Cryptic Command, bounce my Wurmcoil and I'll start planning my revenge on the Splinter Twin.<br /><br />hashtag-endless-loop-of-deckbulding-revenge<br /><br />Relevant podcast deck tech from Masters of Modern.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.rocketjump.com/listen/modern-pro-tours-history-splinter-twin" target="_blank">Take a listen</a>.&nbsp; And don't think that Twisted Image isn't on my list to kill spellskites.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-5119671922039016402015-09-14T14:39:00.000-07:002015-09-14T14:39:57.666-07:00Zombies, zombies and more zombies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-92nrQujAJQ4/Vfc4kg3vxDI/AAAAAAAACLo/5c2S0_8fK54/s1600/Zombie_Infestation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-92nrQujAJQ4/Vfc4kg3vxDI/AAAAAAAACLo/5c2S0_8fK54/s200/Zombie_Infestation.jpg" width="140" /></a></div>One of my <a href="http://evk4.blogspot.com/2010/09/sailors-will-survive-zombie-apocalypse.html" target="_blank">most successful sailing posts</a> was about how to survive the zombie apocalypse (hint: sail offshore and don't drop anchor).&nbsp; So, of course, when playing Magic I wanted zombies because there are very few sailboats in Magic.&nbsp; So zombies win.&nbsp; And I want to win.<br /><br />After building Noah's and my first few decks, I found this site called tappedout.&nbsp; Tappedout is a place where people post their deck lists so that others can admire it, offer advice, trade cards I guess, but really just to show off.&nbsp; It has a good search capability so I looked up zombie decks.<br /><br />There are a ton of zombies and zombie deck posssibilities in Magic.&nbsp; But only one zombie deck that is truly hilarious.&nbsp; It's called Zombie Hunt and has four moving parts:<br /><ul><li>4x Treasure Hunt</li><li>2x Zombie Infestation</li><li>4x Reliquary Tower</li><li>50x islands/swamps in any combo</li></ul>Before I explain the deck, I have a quick quiz: what is scary about a single zombie?&nbsp; Nothing. It's slow, ugly, has bad breath and is stupid.&nbsp; That's not a scary combination.&nbsp; What's scary about zombies?&nbsp; How freaking many of them there are...they swarm and come from all directions at once...you can never stop running or they WILL catch you.<br /><br />So, life advice and magic advice combined: be scared of a lot of zombies.&nbsp; If you are on the zombie side of the equation: find ways to make more zombies.<br /><br />So here's the combo...get a Reliquary Tower and an Island on the table.&nbsp; Cast Treasure Hunt.&nbsp; Treasure Hunt lets you search your library until you find a non-land card, putting all cards revealed this way into your hand.&nbsp; 54 of the 60 cards in your deck are lands, you will have a lot of lands in your hand.&nbsp; This will confuse your opponent, you need to look really disappointed.&nbsp;<br /><br />Then you pass your turn.&nbsp; When they suggest you discard a few cards, have them read <a href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=389653" target="_blank">Reliquary Tower</a>...it states that you have no maximum hand size.&nbsp; Try to play it off like it's a weird ridiculous thing that you're keeping 40 cards in your hand.&nbsp; Here's a quote you can use, "hah hah, I'm so stupid, keeping 40 cards in my hand, please don't attack me with your Favored Hoplite :) ."<br /><br />Next turn, slap down a swamp, play Zombie Infestation, discard 36 lands and make 18 2/2 zombies.&nbsp; Stare them down as you lay the tokens on the battlefield one by one.&nbsp; Then put your arms out like a zombie, look hungry and say, "braaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnssssssss!"&nbsp; Next turn, win the game*.<br /><br />* <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Pro-tip: If you suspect they have bile blight or anger of the gods or some sort of board wipe, only play 5 at a time.</span>EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-65119894414047284712015-09-14T12:06:00.001-07:002015-09-14T13:46:20.904-07:00How I got into MagicAs a kid, I idolized <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield_%28illusionist%29" target="_blank">David Copperfield</a>.&nbsp; No, that's not right.&nbsp; As a kid, I read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield" target="_blank">David Copperfield</a>.&nbsp; The second one is actually true.&nbsp; But neither of these have to do with Magic and how I started.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vqFUh9SMaU8/VfcZlGP5WhI/AAAAAAAACLM/zj7P8F9nyRA/s1600/jace-the-mindsculptor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vqFUh9SMaU8/VfcZlGP5WhI/AAAAAAAACLM/zj7P8F9nyRA/s200/jace-the-mindsculptor.jpg" width="142" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magician doing Magic Things</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Magic is a card game.&nbsp; I had seen the infamous <a href="http://imgur.com/gallery/SjcgE" target="_blank">buttcrack photo album</a> (<i>kind of sfw</i>).&nbsp; I had heard about people playing the game and derisively called them nerds.&nbsp; I thought it was D&amp;D for the unimaginative (because D&amp;D is for creative thinkers NOT nerds).<br /><br />Then my niece Katy pulled out some cards to show to Noah.&nbsp; And they played a game while I talked to my sister.&nbsp; She knew Noah played Pathfinder (same game as D&amp;D but cooler) and thought he might like Magic.&nbsp; He had fun playing, picked it up pretty quickly and seemed interested.&nbsp; He has a friend on the swim team who plays so I thought, "Hmm, I'll go to a game store and grab him a deck."<br /><br />The very friendly owner of <a href="http://www.gamescape-north.com/" target="_blank">Gamescape North</a> showed me some pre-built decks, asked about Noah's personality and based on his persona in Pathfinder, we decided he'd like a red deck.&nbsp; The red deck was built around aggressive attacks; Noah's Pathfinder characters were all about power level and going for the kill.&nbsp; Seemed a good fit.<br /><br />Then he hit on some magic words when explaining the game to me.&nbsp; He said, and I quote (as indicated by quotation marks), "<b><i>it's all about probabilities</i></b>."&nbsp; You build a deck and make game decisions based on the probability of drawing certain cards.&nbsp; In game, you can make choices to affect those probabilities (extra card draw, searching, <i>et cetera</i>) while during deckbuilding you make choices to make those in game choices easier (playing multiples of certain cards, land-to-spell ratio, mana curves, <i>et cetera</i>).&nbsp; Turns out Magic is a great big math equation.<br /><br />So I started building decks for Noah.&nbsp; He stayed a step ahead of me on the strategy aspects, I stayed a step ahead of him on the mathy parts.&nbsp; What we share is an addiction to hobbies so we spent a lot of time figuring out how to play and how to get better.<br /><br />About 2 years later, we have dozens of home brewed decks, 5 modified Tier 1 decks, many tournaments played, quadrillions of kitchen table battles, so many cards that we have to give some away, and even a habit of watching other people play Magic on twitch.tv.&nbsp; It's not David Copperfield but we do have Great Expectations*.<br /><br /><a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/geeks_and_nerds.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="relevant XKCD comic" border="0" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/geeks_and_nerds.png" height="150" title="relevant XKCD comic" width="200" /></a>But it all started when my niece recognized us as nerds and then when I learned that it's not actually a game for nerds but a game for geeks....I was hooked. <br /><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">* if you like incredible jokes like this one, you might want to bookmark this blog!</span><br /><br /><br />EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-64716230804654414472012-03-08T11:41:00.006-08:002012-03-08T11:50:07.715-08:00Run Forrest Run!Through some absolute fluke of good timing and preparation, we were second in line to enter Disneyland last Tuesday. We had secured the spot over on the far right behind a couple of heavier ladies (yes, this is pertinent).<br /><br />It took about 15 minutes until they opened the gates and the lady at the turnstile had already pre-scanned our tickets so at the appointed moment, we would all just walk through. The order: Noah, Camille, Heidi, and then me. After the heavier ladies of course, it's not like we're impolite.<br /><br />When I get into Disneyland I like to savor the moment...we are at Disneyland! You know, like that.<br /><br />Noah, on the other hand, seizes opportunities. After the first cast member said, "walk, don't run" he sprinted past the heavier ladies and started running. And running. And running.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uySfKGoLams/T1kMO4MrmzI/AAAAAAAACDU/JMAx97-fmLQ/s1600/main%2Bstreet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uySfKGoLams/T1kMO4MrmzI/AAAAAAAACDU/JMAx97-fmLQ/s400/main%2Bstreet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717614651666832178" border="0" /></a><br />I was trailing behind, fumbling with my camera, yelling his name to stop and pose for a picture. He was the first one down Main Street! Photo Opp! <span style="font-size:85%;">{editor's note: those are cast members ahead of him in the shot}</span> He ignored me; he had places to go.<br /><br />He didn't stop until he was the first person on Star Tours. His explanation: this would never happen again, he didn't want to miss his chance!<br /><br />Later, once we caught up to Heidi and Camille, they mentioned that they had stopped at the fruit vendor on Main Street (seen in the right of this very picture) and remarked that Noah was insane. The fruit-monger looked at them and said, "Noah? That's the kids name that ran down Main Street 5 minutes ago with his Dad yelling his name. He is insane!"EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-68482931699728439912012-02-08T11:55:00.001-08:002012-02-08T12:03:42.235-08:00I just threw up in my mouth<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PJdP0hheHMU/TzLTZFnU8LI/AAAAAAAACCk/58YOYbLmvmQ/s1600/ruth-dodgers.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 381px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PJdP0hheHMU/TzLTZFnU8LI/AAAAAAAACCk/58YOYbLmvmQ/s400/ruth-dodgers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706856105789157554" border="0" /></a>Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that picture makes me? Babe Ruth on the Dodgers? That is absolutely horrible. Great players should not end up on the Dodgers even if they are just first base coaches.<br /><br />The Dodgers are designed for villains like Ron Cey, Tommy Lasorda, Kirk Gibson and Matt Latos (yes, he is evil enough to eventually become a Dodger). Not Babe Ruth.<br /><br />I wonder how the fans in New York reacted to this in 1938? He was only a few miles away in Brooklyn and the team was terrible (finishing 18.5 games out in the National League) while the Yankees finished first in the AL and won the World Series (helloooo Cubbies). Most importantly, the Giants were 13.5 games better than the Dogs.<br /><br />Anyway, not even Dodgers fans like the look of this so let's just go back to pretending it never happened. For the sake of my appetite.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-60800076281197273042012-01-22T13:03:00.000-08:002012-01-22T13:15:30.539-08:00How do you tack?When I tack a boat, I like to immediately check my sails and look around to see what new obstacles are out there. Some helmsmen take a swig of beer upon a complete tack. Others might look around, embarrassed, hoping nobody saw the sloppiness.<br /><br />These 9 year olds dance. And then tack again.<br /><br /><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F56U66VFMIw?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F56U66VFMIw?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object><br /><br /><div><br />That's how sailing is supposed to be.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:78%;"><i>Warning: sailing content on this blog, be very concerned.</i></span></div>EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-458858808987025402012-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:002012-01-18T13:25:33.474-08:00Ironbirds take to the air!In years past, the teams in Noah's league were named after major league teams. Last year, he was on the Red Sox; therefore, the Red Sox are now his second favorite team. After the mighty Giants of San Francisco of course.<br /><br />I just received the team assignments for this year and saw some awfully funny names: muckdogs, rockhounds, blue claws, ironbirds. What the heck? Minor league team names? But I had already picked out Noah's uniform number: 9, previously worn by one Teddy Ballgame.<br /><br />At first I thought, that must be the placeholders before all the coaches start bickering over who gets to be the Giants. But, no, those are our team names. My initial instinct (and action) was to email the commissioner and ask to be the 51s (Blue Jays affiliate in Las Vegas that has an alien for their logo). But, unfortunately, the uniform company doesn't offer the 51s.<br /><br />Then I looked up the Ironbirds and saw this:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZyNexoRooI/Txc4S6A-0LI/AAAAAAAACCE/-74ju4xrHVY/s1600/Ironbirds%2Blogo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 319px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZyNexoRooI/Txc4S6A-0LI/AAAAAAAACCE/-74ju4xrHVY/s400/Ironbirds%2Blogo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699085750922825906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Great logo!<br /><br />A bit more research and I see that the Aberdeen Ironbirds are the single A affiliate for the Orioles. Since Noah's league numbers only go up to 15, my only decision at this point is Cal Ripken Jr's number or Brooks Robinson's?EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-77168633465330629412012-01-09T15:21:00.000-08:002012-01-09T15:37:35.832-08:00About the time I was badly out-coachedA new season ignites past memories.<br /><br />My team (the Red Sox) shared a practice field with the Giants. We had the north diamond they had the south. It was friendly and since practice was WAY TOO LONG for 5 &amp; 6 year olds' attention spans we would often have a scrimmage for the last 30-40 minutes against the Giants.<br /><br />This time, though, we hadn't made any plans for the scrimmage since it was the last practice of the season. My plan was simple, make sure the kids could see how far they'd come in the past three months. Take them through the first practice plan and laugh at how lame it seemed compared to where they currently are. Throw in some congratulations and enthusiasm and just play baseball.<br /><br />But when I looked over at the Giants' side of the field, I felt even more pride in how far I'd come as a coach. Michael, the Giants coach, had a freakin' igloo cooler on the mound instead of the customary ball bucket. I distinctly remember thinking, "rookie" and chortling to myself.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8L0HV9UQolg/Twt5v4bn3xI/AAAAAAAACB0/AnYkn5hADK8/s1600/water%2Bballoon.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8L0HV9UQolg/Twt5v4bn3xI/AAAAAAAACB0/AnYkn5hADK8/s400/water%2Bballoon.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695780017249181458" border="0" /></a>Then he opened the cooler and started an all out water balloon assault on his team. My pride was revealed as hubris and his team became better than mine. Instantly. My kids looked over glumly as the joy of a well executed 6-4 putout paled next to a gigantic team-wide water balloon fight.<br /><br />My well-crafted year of sunflower seed spitting lessons, take me out to the ballgame renditions, and superstition learning crumbled next to the last-practice antics of the Giants. All year long I could feel that the Giants preferred to be on my side of the field for our half-squad scrimmages. Gone with one well-executed water balloon fight. Heck, I wanted to be on the Giants for those ten minutes.<br /><br />All I can do now is plan for next year. Keep all of my same gimmicks, hope for a warm day on the last practice, and try to think of one new one. Something like pitching ripe pears to an unsuspecting batter or a life-sized zombie first baseman statue with the first kid to knock his head off with a throw from shortstop wins a prize. Something like that.<br /><br />I'll never win back next year but I can make sure I never get out-coached like that again.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-77205976055172743402012-01-04T16:42:00.000-08:002012-01-04T16:51:26.561-08:00Baseball & Sailing: two great tastesSo what do baseball and sailing have to do with each other? Nothing. Except this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3-JXC6-QS8M/TwTyZAxX-7I/AAAAAAAACBo/77TFwxnB_Cw/s1600/baseball%2Band%2Bsailing.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 118px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3-JXC6-QS8M/TwTyZAxX-7I/AAAAAAAACBo/77TFwxnB_Cw/s400/baseball%2Band%2Bsailing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693942340420893618" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, really, I'm reaching here.<br /><br />Maybe I'll never make the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=proper+course+tillerman+top+ten+blogs">Vaunted Tillerman Top Ten</a> again but I have something to say on this here blog. And, unfortunately for the sailing blog readers, it's about baseball.<br /><br />But, I'll get brackish on you here with one last sailing story. When I was in my early 20's I played golf; not well or often but I did own my own set of golf clubs. When planning out my TransAtlanticSail that is at the heart of my title of "<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Bad+Ass+Ocean+Going+Sailor">Bad Ass Ocean Going Sailor</a>", my father (and Captain) told me that golf clubs and sailing don't mix. Specifically, my golf clubs were not allowed on his sail boat.<br /><br />And that killed my plans to golf in Ireland upon landfall. I have barely golfed since.<br /><br />What does that have to do with baseball. Nothing. See you at the <a href="http://ustre.am/G833">Great Batting Practice Broadcast</a> this Saturday.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-16720920841942263112012-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:002012-01-04T11:22:08.581-08:00Taking blogging to the next level<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PP68fhAg2EE/TwSjMyAk10I/AAAAAAAACBc/ZUg2MPTTlzs/s1600/baseball%2Bnoah.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 329px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PP68fhAg2EE/TwSjMyAk10I/AAAAAAAACBc/ZUg2MPTTlzs/s400/baseball%2Bnoah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693855268881094466" border="0" /></a>I'm a failure as a sailing blogger, not cracking the coveted <a href="http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2012/01/top-9-sailing-blogs-of-2011.html">Tillerman 9</a> again. Seriously, I used to be good. But then sailing slowed then stopped and I have to find a way to be good again.<br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span><br />So I thought, how about I ignore the old media (blogging) and become a new media dude. That's right, what's old is new and I'm going to be broadcasting live this upcoming Saturday (1/7/2012) at 9AM Pacific.<br /><br />Actually, I'm not going to be broadcasting me due to the limited appeal. I'm going for hits on this one and broadcasting Noah's batting practice! Live!<br /><br />Noah plans on hitting the ball hard, some funny banter, possibly an Aaron Rowand batting stance impersonation, and some engaging theories on hitting a baseball.<br /><br />Please join him at http://ustrea.am/G833 at 9AM Pacific time on Saturday 1/7/2012.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-1266426070091483792012-01-03T13:28:00.000-08:002012-01-03T13:32:17.730-08:00Sailing over the fenceI got a great Facebook comment on some baseball or swimming somethingoranother post I made last Summer. A friend simply stated, "I used to know a sailor with the same name, do you know him?" Haha, that was funny. Funny because it's true.<br /><br />I dont' think I've sailed since the 3BF last year. Don't really have much of a plan to sail in the foreseeable future. What I will do is coach baseball and go to swim meets. With an occasional dalliance into geo-caching. I work too, but that's not what this blog is about.<br /><br />Here's why baseball has taken over for sailing:<br /><br /><object style="width: 640px; height: 390px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G21oTfT79Yo?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G21oTfT79Yo?version=3&amp;feature=player_detailpage" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><br />Check out that freakin' swing. He just turned 6. He'll be wearing #9 on the Red Sox this year for some very obvious reasons.<br /><br />Maybe I'll sail again or maybe I'll just watch the balls sail over the fence. Who knows.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-23908475457300279602011-01-27T14:41:00.000-08:002011-01-27T14:54:35.360-08:00Watch out for biomass in the waterYou know when you're driving on the freeway on a dark night and you hear that distinctive "bump bump bump bump" like you just ran over something? That sucks. It's bad for your suspension, sometimes chips your paint, and the poor thing getting run over rarely enjoys it.<br /><br />When sailing, <a href="http://sailvalis.com/wordpress_1/?p=181">sometimes you bump a whale</a>, but mostly it's just driftwood and <a href="http://evk4.blogspot.com/2006/01/life-imitates-sailing.html">clorox bottles</a>. The dolphins and sea lions and halibut tend to stay out of your way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TUH3CKgQVrI/AAAAAAAAB88/jOvVRNql0rM/s1600/laguna23jan119.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 161px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TUH3CKgQVrI/AAAAAAAAB88/jOvVRNql0rM/s400/laguna23jan119.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567002230958085810" /></a><br />But for this year's Three Bridge Fiasco, we are competing with biomass, lots of biomass, that might not be able to stay out of our way. The USCG sent a representative to the skipper's meeting last night to warn us that their is going to be a concurrent open water swim in the same stretch of water at the same time as our race. 30 swimmers with about 20 support boats that are supposed to stay in between them and us.<br /><br />It really shouldn't be too hard; in all probability they are going to hug the shoreline even more than we need to. But to complicate matters, there are over 360 boats entered this year and I'm pretty sure we're all going CCW directly into the teeth of the open water race.<br /><br />And swimmers are hard to spot despite their neon caps. Wetsuits are roughly the color of bay water. And only their pink heads stick out of the water. Look at that picture above. Now try to picture yourself in a 44' boat blasting along at a knot or two trying to see the pink cap.<br /><br />This could get tricky.<br /><br />Me? I love swimmers. I am one and my daughter is one. I'm going to be d@mned careful of these guys. Might even threaten one of the little boats with VALIS' anchor if they try to get too close. But, it sure is going to be crowded out there.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-19732724568179597532011-01-19T13:50:00.001-08:002011-01-19T14:12:02.676-08:00America's Cup is selling sex<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TTdcwM70P5I/AAAAAAAAB8c/026CQ1ML3uA/s1600/ac45.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TTdcwM70P5I/AAAAAAAAB8c/026CQ1ML3uA/s400/ac45.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564017847815126930" border="0" /></a><br />Ponder that image above for a moment. It's the new AC45, the one design catamaran that will be used by America's Cup teams in the America's Cup World Series (ACWS).<br /><br />The picture is a screen grab of the boat out on its <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqKPMdZRv2U&feature=player_embedded">second test sail in Auckland</a>, cruising along at seemingly supersonic speeds in 25 knots of wind. Looks like it's handling it pretty well. Nice shape on the wing, well trimmed genoa, beautiful graphics.<br /><br />Erk, wait, the graphics. What is that on the jib? Is it the America's Cup trophy? Or a slightly abstract graphic of a busty woman? Before you think it's just me seeing this, take a look at this painting by my <a href="http://www.stvnski.com">favorite contemporary painter, Stvnski</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TTdgNqN7aqI/AAAAAAAAB8k/mRs3_9qD9dA/s1600/stvnski.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 174px; height: 245px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TTdgNqN7aqI/AAAAAAAAB8k/mRs3_9qD9dA/s400/stvnski.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564021652426812066" border="0" /></a>Notice the similarities to a nude by renowned maximilist artist <a href="http://www.stvnski.com">Stvnski</a>? I'm not just seeing things. This is not just a freakin' cigar people! The America's Cup is selling sex.<br /><br />Not that they shouldn't. One of the worries in the sailing world is that we don't attract enough fans, racers, participants, groupies, etc. Well, abstract pictures of naked ladies on the freakin' headsail will solve that problem in a New York minute.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-29612438551135224082011-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:002011-01-12T15:18:38.406-08:00Crowdsourcing yachting strategiesBeing a bad ass ocean going sailor, I often rely on others for the hard work like figuring out where Hawaii is or the best recipe for Mahi Mahi Tacos. But on those rare occasions when I'm sailing within the cozy confines of our <a href="http://odock.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-natural-amphitheater.html">natural ampitheater</a> in a doublehanded race, strategy advice gets severely limited to me and the other guy in the boat.<br /><br />In the case of VALIS, it helps that the other guy in the boat is absurdly smart and has all sorts of electric electronics that make our circumnavigation of the <a href="http://odock.blogspot.com/2011/01/our-natural-amphitheater.html">natural ampitheater</a> easier. But still, I'm expected to have some sort of input or an opinion or something beyond "hey, let's trim in that jib a bit."<br /><br />This is even further compounded by my offer to go to the skipper's meeting to save the other guy in the boat a drive down to Alameda. (Quick side note: the Oakland Yacht Club is not in Oakland and the San Francisco Yacht Club is not in San Francisco, who else finds this annoying?) So, I'm going to be listening to the always intense lecture on strategically navigating the Bay based on what we know at that moment 60 hours before the start of the race. And be expected to have opinions come race-time.<br /><br />Since I'm just not that smart, I'm crowdsourcing to my ever-shrinking blog audience. Which way should VALIS go? Clockwise or counterclockwise? Here's what we know:<br /><br />1. the currents will look like this:<br /><br /><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/yOx5DniVDw2MRSjzZBydkULfFjH_38AZyU9DlV8WjlDn43iWfqHC53ioisfXVPLfRmdh8SV20JcfzSa-Fjbztleb4A=s512"><br /><br />2. Our start time is 10:18:18 AM<br /><br />3. VALIS is a big boat and has a deadly anchor on the bow.<br /><br />Please vote on direction in the poll to the right of this post.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-10572965970238337172011-01-11T16:32:00.000-08:002011-01-11T16:36:58.249-08:00Three Bridge Fiasco 2011And so it starts again. Another season of sailing. And it all begins with: clockwise or counterclockwise.<br /><br />Quick admission, I haven't sailed since the day I stepped off the boat in Kaneohe. Not once. And that's my big struggle with the Three Bridge Fiasco -- clockwise or counterclockwise? Which frickin' way do you turn the winches again? It has been a while.<br /><br />I'll do some research before the start. I have this vague recollection that VALIS has two speed winches which might solve my problem; it's entirely possible that both directions work. And then there's the electric winches that you just press buttons for. But still, it's a lot to remember.<br /><br />For this 3BF, I'll just start clockwise and see what happens.EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5105989.post-6729529366010238132010-10-22T11:59:00.001-07:002010-10-22T12:10:56.411-07:00Wind Assisted Effin' Idiot<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TMHfOU0GwjI/AAAAAAAAB5g/jquIywrUDaw/s1600/wafi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TMHfOU0GwjI/AAAAAAAAB5g/jquIywrUDaw/s400/wafi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530947254586098226" /></a><br />A friend of mine just bought this boat. Usually I'm not a fan of buying upside down boats but this one is different. Because they do this on purpose for boats "like this".<br /><br />What is a boat "like this"? Well, it's fast and meant for the open ocean. It has a canting keel, a sprit bigger than Barry Bonds' head and is made entirely of carbon. This friend has won a single handed transpac and still admits that this boat is going to be a handful. He sounds freakin' giddy about it.<br /><br />Now for the boat name: WAFI. Stands for wind assisted f'in idiot. Though it's not clear if we're talking about the boat being an idiot or the sailor. Sheesh, I hate ambiguous boat names worse than boat name puns. Erk, I just realized that this sailor's other boat's name is a pun. I've always given him a pass because the boat came with the name and he's a better sailor than I am. But, I'm not sure if I can deal with two bad boat names in his family. We'll see, he doesn't have the boat yet so there is time.<br /><br />We should probably see this boat in the Bay Area in the next couple of months. I would ask for a ride but I'm a bit scared of this thing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TMHhbjo_DLI/AAAAAAAAB5o/sby2vX0mJms/s1600/wafi+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aOEubClw1g/TMHhbjo_DLI/AAAAAAAAB5o/sby2vX0mJms/s400/wafi+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530949680927542450" /></a>EVK4http://www.blogger.com/profile/02797338920913749383noreply@blogger.com12